Flying High
by Kine X
Summary: What do you do when a portal of some type suddenly appears out of thin air, onto your screen? Do you shut your laptop? Do you throw your computer monitor out the window? Or do you jump in the portal without absolutely any thought what so ever? What do I do, you may ask?... Well, you'll just have to read on and find out for yourself.
1. Chapter 1

_**Edited on March 25th, 2013**_

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or anything else that I may reference, besides my own ideas, of course.

Warning: I wanted to do something interesting, so, the logical conclusion is, Self-Insert. I decided that my first fic would be a SI. I love Self-Inserts, they're, usually, interesting.

**Summary: What do you do when a portal of some type suddenly appears out of thin air? Do you shut your laptop? Do you throw your computer out the window? Or do you jump in the portal without absolutely any thought what so ever? What do I do, you may ask?... Well, you'll just have to read on and find out for yourself.**

Flying High

by

Kine X

It was a boring day, just like all the others ever since I graduated high school. I went to a weird school, where you work on your own time and, depending on how many credits you had, you're able to graduate relatively fast. I had just graduated sometime in the middle of January. I was excited at first, until I realized that there was just about nothing to do.

So, once again, it was a boring average day.

That was, until a portal appeared out of nowhere... Is what I wished would happen. I was imagining what would really happen if, well, that happened. Where would I end up? How would I cope? Would I have fun? Would I gain a bunch of super awesome powers on my way over there?

"*sigh* I really wish I had something to do right now." I spoke to myself in a rare fit of boredom, I hardly ever talk to myself aloud. I was the calm, collected, anti-social type of person, not that I wanted to be, it's just, after a long time of not spending time being energetic and/or social, I just, practically, stopped feeling certain things. The only feelings I had where rare bouts of mirth, sadness, or something really random. I use to be really emotional and expressive. I used to, also, be very temperamental, though, that may be debatable.

"*Sigh*..." I sighed once again. I was really bored. I, usually, had some type of Fan-Fiction to read, but none of the ones that I love reading have been updating that often.

'Hmmm. Maybe some Anime' I thought. 'That might rid me of some of my time' So, I moved my finger on the track-pad of my laptop to bring it out of the screen-saver that it was in, I opened up a new tab, went to my favorite Anime site, I wasn't able to buy my own Anime, and I hit [Random Anime].

I searched for Half an hour before finding something that I thought sounded good.

'Hmm. One Piece? Haven't really seen that in a while' I pondered on it, I really hadn't watched it in a long time, I tried to start re-watching it a week or two ago, but I got caught up in school work. 'Eh' I thought again 'I might as well start watching it over, I last stopped around episode 470 or 480' I had just then pushed the button that said [One Piece] when something weird happened. Right where the Summary of One Piece, to the right of the picture of Luffy and the rest of the crew, was supposed to be a weird blue whirlpool like thing appeared.

I stared in shock for a small moment before shoving away my laptop and sitting up in bed, I had just been laying down under my blankets, like usual. I stared in shock at the portal for a few moments before grabbing a napking that was on the bedside table sitting to my left.

I looked towards the portal that hadn't done anything yet, fortunately, I didn't wanna be sucked in. That would be horrible. I was still in my night clothes. I took the napkin, folded it to where it was long and tube like, and then touched the whirlpool with it. It was immediately sucked in.

'A portal' I thought dumbly. 'Impossible' Though, I knew that, if it was before me, and there wasn't a napkin on the other side of my laptop, then it must be real. Going through that explanation jerked me out of my shock. I sat up, placed my feet on the floor next to my bed, put my elbows on my knees, put my head into my hand, and thought. I didn't know what to do. On one hand, I could pack up, jump in the portal, or whatever it was, and hope for the best. Or, I could close my laptop, effectively making the portal absorb my keyboard and the rest of the laptop, and let the portal collapse into itself, that was, basically, choosing not to go.

But, I've always been a bit curious about things like this. 'It couldn't be a coincidence that the portal appeared on the One Piece Summary, could it?' I wondered to myself.

After a minute of indecision, I opened my eyes, 'When did they close?' I absently thought, before continuing with my decision.

"I'll do it" I said aloud, to no one. "I'll go-"

"WHAT, SON?" I heard my Mom yell from the room over.

"NOTHING MOM" I yelled back, eye twitching. '*Sigh* Ey-... I'll have to be a bit quie-' I was interrupted once again.

"ARE YOU SURE?" She yelled back.

"YES MOM, I'M SURE!" There was a small moment of silence an-

"WELL IF YOU'RE SURE" She, once again, yelled.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, MOM, I'M SURE!" I waited a minute to see if she yelled back and, thankfully, she didn't. Suddenly my eyes shot wide open, 'The Portal!' I thought frantically.

I looked over... It was still there. I sighed again, this time in relief.

'I'll do it' I thought, standing up. 'I'll go in and explore, see if there's anything interesting' I walked over to the basket in the corner of my room and put on a pair of shorts over the pair of stretchy shorts that I already had on, put on a plain, black, button-up shirt over my wife-beater, also known as an A-Shirt or athletic shirt, put on my worn out t-shoes, with socks of course, grabbed my large traveling backpack and packed it with a lot of my clothes.

I put in ten pairs of socks, rolled up together to make more room, six pairs of shin length shorts, folded and packed tightly, and my favorite sweater that I wore every day. That was all put into the main part of my pack. I put in a pack of playing cards into one of the smaller parts, put a stud in my left ear- that was the only ear pierced, I got it done in fifth grade-, got my gallon water bottle, that I set on top of my clothes in the main compartment thingy, and lastly, but not least, my pocket knife that I got for Christmas. I put that in my back pocket.

I put my backpack on, re-laced my shoes, put on my ring that's been handed down since my great-grandpa, my papi, stepped forward, bent my knees to dive into the portal, and then I stopped.

I almost forgot my glasses... That would have been a disaster. So, I turned around, walked to my night table, took my glasses, the cloth to clean the glasses, and my glasses case, and I was ready. I, once again, turned to my laptop, where the portal was _still_ waiting, walked over to it, bent my knees, and I... stopped, once again.

'I think I should shave my beard before I dive on through' I thought. 'I should, at least, look presentable wherever I'm going'. I took off my shoes, set down my backpack, and walked to the bathroom. I looked at the counter sink... My toothbrush. 'I almost forgot my toothbrush and toothpaste. Luckily I thought to shave my beard' I took my... tooth supplies? And put them into my pocket. I looked under the sink, grabbed my electric razor, and shave most of my beard off, I had a little hair left remaining. I, then, walked back to my room and sat on my bed.

'Am I finally ready?' I thought to myself. 'Did I forget anything?... Ah!' I put my... tooth supplies? Into my backpack.

'I think I'm ready' I answered my earlier question. I put my backpack and shoes on, turned towards my laptop, where the portal was _STILL_ at, and I bent my kne-

"SON, DO YOU WANT ANYTHING FROM THAT ONE CHINESE PLACE?" My mom yelled to me. My stomach rumbled...

"YEAH, GET ME THE USUAL, PLEASE!" I yelled back. '… It looks like I'll have to hold off on this journey for a little while longer' I thought to myself. 'After all, you can't go on a, possibly, epic journey with an empty stomach.'

* * *

**So, How was it? Please leave a review on your way out. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Edited on March 25th, 2013**_

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or anything else that I may reference, besides my own ideas.

**Summary: ****What do you do when a portal of some type suddenly appears out of thin air? Do you shut your laptop? Do you throw your computer out the window? Or do you jump in the portal without absolutely any thought what so ever? What do I do, you may ask?... Well, you'll just have to read on and find out for yourself.**

Flying High

by

Kine X

"*sigh* That was good." I said aloud with a toothpick in my mouth, my hands folded on my belly. The Chinese food was delicious, I had Mandrin Chicken, Orange Chicken, and Chow-mein noodles with an egg roll and a big bottle of ice, cold Dr. Pepper. My Mom got us something from 'Chinese Bear Express'.

That, alone, just about stopped me from diving through. 'But,' I thought. 'Would I rather have good food or have the chance to get away and go on a, possibly, awesome adventure?... Of course I would choose the latter'.

"Ah!" I exclaimed. "The Portal" I hadn't checked it in a while, since my mom got back. I got up off of the couch in the living room and rushed upstairs to my room in a panic, 'Is the whirlpool thingy still there?' I wondered, thinking along the way. I looked to my laptop as soon as I got there and sighed in relief.

Yes, the portal was _still_ there. Even after about an hour. It kinda seems like someone wants me to jump through it... 'Nah, couldn't be. Why would _anyone_ want me to jump through a _portal_ for God's sake? Maybe someone's out to get me?' I wondered. Could someone be out to get me? 'Nah, impossible' Somewhere, in my empty head, part of my brain said that portals like this where probably 'impossible', too. But, I ignored it and slouched into my room, my hands in my pocket and my toothpick hanging out my mouth. I felt like a Badass.

"So," I muttered to myself, hoping I was quiet enough. I didn't need my mom interfering with my soon-to-be adventure. "Time to take inventory."

I sat down on my bed, making sure not to move my laptop. I didn't want anything untoward to happen to it, like blowing up or somethin like that. I took my pack and looked through it.

'Giant water bottle, Check'

'Pocket dictionary/Notebook,...' I quickly grabbed that from the dresser in my closet. 'Check' The PD/N, or PDN, was a small _Thick_ notebook that I kept things I found interesting in. Like, Names, Phone Numbers, How Different Things Worked, and many other things. There were, also, many different sketches of different things in it.

'Underwear..., Check'

'Wifebeaters... No Check' "Can't believe I almost forgot those" I rushed back to my closet and pulled out seven of them, Four Gray, One Red, One Navy Blue, and One Purple. I already had my White one on. "Now," I started out loudly and then changed to a whisper. "On with the show."

'Shorts, knee length, Check' "Can't have shorts longer or shorter than that" I mumbled. "Unless they're swimming trunks, then it's okay"

'My Favorite Sweater, Check' Can't leave here without that, It has a tree on it. A TREE. Not a Weed-Tree, but A TREE-Tree. I _love_ my sweater.

'Socks, Check'

'Playing cards... Check'

'Pocket Knife, Check'

'Almost done…' My eye's widened. 'MY GLASSES... THEY AREN'T IN THE CASE' I mentally screamed to myself. I quickly looked once again, inside the case, and they still weren't there, 'Duh' I smacked my forehead. I looked through all of the clothes in my bag and my glasses still weren't there. I looked over to my night stand, nope, I looked around my bed... nope, I got up and ran to my door.

"MOM" I yelled.

"WHAT?" She yelled back.

"HAVE YOU SEEN MY GLASSES!?" I... yelled back.

"ARE THEY ON YOUR FACE?" She responded.

I stopped dead in my tracks for a few seconds and then reached up to the bridge of my nose.

…

…

"NEVER MIND." I shouted to her.

"YOUR WELCOME!" She hollered back, amusedly.

My glasses were on my face the whole time. I felt a bit depressed, then.

"*sigh* Dammit" I said aloud, then. "GOOD NIGHT, MOM." I yelled.

"GOOD NIGHT, SON."

I, once again, sighed. 'Dammit, I'm not an old man yet, I need to stop sighing' I sighed...

I turned around and closed my door. I looked to the pack that was on the floor. I was ready. Finally.

I looked to my laptop screen and the portal that was, luckily, still there. 'Hmmm. Maybe something of substantial mass has to go through there before it closes' I pondered for a small moment. 'I wonder what the energy cost to keep something like that open is, especially for so long?' I sighed, I'll probably never know.

'Well, It's time to go' I thought, My eyes practically radiated with light, I was so excited. I had a stomach full of food and... I almost forgot my Dr. Pepper, I had set it down to put my hands on my belly. I fast walked downstairs and grabbed it before heading to the fridge. I had asked my Mom to grab me a few Grapeade Arizona's. Thank God I remembered those, there was a possible chance of me not being able to come back. So, I grabbed those, all 6 of them, they where in a black lunch box, and I ran upstairs.

'Finally, I have everything. All my drinks, all my clothes, my pocket knife, my glasses, and, lastly,' here I looked next to my pack. 'My old Tenne-Shoes!'

I was _Finally_ ready, I hoped. I put my pack on, with my drink-box? inside, put my shoes on, wiped off my glasses, angled my laptop, I bent my knees- here I thought something was going to interrupt me- and I dived on towards the portal, though, I got a bit stuck and had to wiggle on through. I forgot how small my Laptop screen was.

I looked back once I was going through the portal and saw it close up.

"Hmm. It looks like something of larger, or equivalent, mass _had_ to pierce the portal before it was able to close. That would, also, explain why it did not close up upon the insertion of the napkin." I guessed, probably not correctly, why the portal closed. 'Hm, Better not speculate, for all I know It was programmed to close upon recognition of my bio-signature or aura or somethin crazy like that'

I turned towards where I was heading, instead of where I came from. Suddenly, what looked like a lightning bolt reached out and... just reached out? It was following me for some reason. I looked around. Why did this portal remind me of the area the T.A.R.D.I.S* travels through, it was... the time vortex, or whatever it was.

Then, for absolutely no reason that I could tell, the 'lightning bolt' that had been following me for a, seemingly, small period of time reached out... and hit me in the head.

I felt pain, and a thought ran through my head, before blacking out.

'Damn, I forgot my iPod'

* * *

**T.A.R.D.I.S: Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, The T.A.R.D.I.S is used by The Doctor in the Television Series called Doctor Who. I suggest watching it, it's awesome.**

**So, how is it? I know it's not as long as my first chapter, but, whatever. I had this finished the other day, I didn't know how I wanted to do me waking up. If I should have just let Luffy, Coby, or a different character wake me up. I wanted to do something that I haven't read before, and I thought of something perfect... I think. The next chapter may be out within the next few days... hopefully. Oh, I'm going to give myself a power, or two, if you haven't noticed. Please review if you have the time, if you don't that's fine... xD**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Edited on March 26th, 2013**_

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or anything else that I may reference, besides my own ideas.

**Summary: ****What do you do when a portal of some type suddenly appears out of thin air? Do you shut your laptop? Do you throw your computer out the window? Or do you jump in the portal without absolutely any thought what so ever? What do I do, you may ask?... Well, you'll just have to read on and find out for yourself.**

**I'd like to, also, thank all of those that have Reviewed, Favorited, Viewed, and/or Alerted. Oh, yeah, I forgot the iPod. Literally, I forgot the iPod in the very end and decided to go without. xD**

**This is a bit longer than the first two chapters. Hope you enjoy. I got a bit bored and decided to update this story early. Don't expect this to happen again. The next chapter might be up within the next few days, though.**

Flying High

by

Kine X

"...," I thought I heard something, something that sounded a great distance away.

"W..e .p." Again, that same voice. Though, it was closer this time. Maybe a few feet away, this time.

"Oi!, Wake up!" The voice sounded annoyed, this time. Suddenly, something slammed down and made a loud smacking sound. **SMACK**. It sounded like a hand slapping a desk or a table. I jerked, sitting up, and looked around, disoriented.

"Finally, your up." The voice said, clipped and stern. "You've been out for quite a while. The Nurse was getting a bit worried." I looked towards the voice, it was a man who looked to be around his mid 20's. He was wearing what looked like a white and blue sailor-like uniform, though he had a few different trinkets added here n' there. After looking over what he was wearing, I looked up and seen that he was wearing a hat.

That hat had the word "MARINE" printed on it. I just blinked and had kind of 'wha~~t?, Impossible' moment that I've been having lately. Well, that is, until I was flicked in the forehead by said 'Marine'.

"Oi, did you hear a word I just said?" He asked, aggravated.

I looked at him for a few seconds before answering.

"Sorry... did you say something?" … Yeah, might as well go with that. Though, a small orange book would have made it a bit more awesome.

The 'Marine' just slapped his forehead and brought his hand down to his chin, holding it.

"Fine," He started, gesturing with his hands spread out, palms up, like he was going in for a large hug. "I'll tell you one last time, Understand?" I only nodded my head, before stopping. Something was in my nose. I brought my fingers up, about to touch my nose, before I was interrupted.

"I wouldn't do that if I where you." The guy said. I stopped, looking towards him.

"Hmmm. Why?" I asked.

"Because. The gauze inside of your nose is the thing that's been keeping you from bleeding to death." He spoke sternly, yet, not unkindly, to me.

"What?" I asked, a bit dumbfounded. I mean, finding out a few pieces of gauze was keeping you from bleeding to death was a bit surprising to find out. "What do you _mean_, it's keeping me from _bleeding_ to death?" He looked at me with a small frown.

"That's exactly what I mean. That stuff is keeping you from bleeding to death." He said to me, like he was repeating something to a child. "A few of my subordinates found you in a pool of your own blood right outside of the base, at the gate, it was just poring out of you. It only stopped recently. The Nurse came to get me when she noticed."

"What!?" I exclaimed, shocked. "You _found_ me in a pool of my own _blood_?"

"Yes, we did" He said, simply. "Though, what I would like to know is, how did you end up like that?" He asked, then continued with a raised eyebrow. "How did you end up laying, asleep, in a pool of your own blood?"

"I-I... I don't remember." I told him. It was probably best to lie and say I forgot everything, or something like that, but, well, it wasn't_ really_ a lie, I don't remember anything since being knocked out. I, also, didn't want to be kept imprisoned and/or sent to be experimented on. After all, how many people just up and appear out of nowhere?

"You don't remember?" I was asked, skeptically.

"Yup!" I exclaimed cheerfully. "I don't remember. Many things, really. I only remember simple things, like... uh..." Hmmm. 'What could I say that won't bring some suspicion to my identity' I thought to myself.

"How to speak?" The Marine deadpanned.

"A-ah. Yeah. How to speak." I, oh-so-helpfully, replied.

The Marine just looked at me a bit funnily.

"So, What's your name? You can tell me that, can't you?" He asked with a small twitch in his eye. Like he was going to blow a gasket or somethin like that.

"U-uh... No?" I questioned. He closed his eyes, grabbing the bridge of his nose, and, I could swear, he was mentally counting down. (1)

"Fine!" He exclaimed. "_You_ are going to stay _right here_, in the _bed_ your sitting in _right now_." He told me, with a glare and a finger pointing at the me, then the ground, then the bed, all in the same order.

"_WHAT?_" I yelled. "_WHY _do_ I _have to stay_ HERE?_" I gestured, pointing down. I just wanted to point, too.

"Because," He started. "I can't have a completely unknown person walking around this base and, besides, your still healing a bit. I bet that after _whatever_ happened to you, you're at _least_ feeling a little light headed, right?"

And he was right. I _did_ feel light headed. I, most likely, needed to recuperate from the lost blood. And, besides, I _did_ need to find out a few things about where and what I'm going to do from now on. There is a whole new world out there just waiting to be explored, cause, if I'm right, then I just _may_ be in the One Piece dimension or, at least, an off-shoot of it. I believe that appearing here _most likely_ caused a split in the time-line, splitting the Original One Piece dimension and the one I'm in right now into _who knows_ how many separate dimensions. So, I decided, I would heal and rest up here, but not before getting some info out of the Marine that was still waiting.

"So, ah, do you know where my things are?" I asked. "And, what there is to eat around here?"

* * *

_**Marine Base, Shells Town, East Blue**_

It had been a day since I woke up, well, the first time I woke up. After talking to the Marine, Lieutenant Percival, I believe his name was, He pointed at the chair that was at the side of my bed, where my bag was. "Nothing was taken, only looked through, though, there were a few things of interest in there." He said. "Had to make sure there was nothing that you could use to harm anyone here, anyways." I had nodded and thanked him at the time. He nodded, pointed towards the window that was above my bed, and told me not to have anything to do with the person that was tied out front, in the courtyard. It would probably get me killed.

So, here I was, laying down, staring up at the ceiling, with nothing to do. But, well, I could ponder and think of something to do, like, ask for a book or... something. I was very bored. That is, until a knock came at the door.

***Knock** **Knock*** "Hello? Patient-sama, are you decent?" A Female voice came through the door, and all I could do is think 'sama?, why did she use the -sama honorific? _SHE'S SPEAKING ENGLISH AND USED THE -SAMA HONORIFIC. WHY~?' _It freaked me out a bit. The rules of this dimension were probably going to be a bit weird.

"Hello?" The same voice came through, snapping me out of my funk.

"H-huh, yes, please, come in" I said, keeping the manners that I had, of course.

"Hai, I shall do so." She responded, opening up the door.

Once the door was open all the way, she came in holding a pile of clothes, which I noticed where mine, and a blush on her cheeks. She was about 5 foot 4 inches, had Dark Blue hair, coal colored eyes, _and she didn't have large boobs like Nami, Robin, or many other woman out there in this world_. It was amazing. She, also, wore the same type of nurse outfit, it looked like a 1950s nurse outfit from America, that the last nurse wore, the one that was there when I woke up.

I looked at her with a blank expression for a moment before looking down at what I was wearing. The only thing that I had on was a shirt and a pair of pants, provided by the base, of course. I scooted my but around... I had no underwear on. I blushed before looking back up to the Nurse. She looked off to the side when I looked up, blush still on her cheeks.

"I-I... took the... _pleasure_ of having your clothes washed, sir." She said, with a small smile... and a small line of red running down from her nose. I went brighter red at that, no one's seen me naked in a long time, ever since I was a child in elementary school. Specifically in second grade.

"T-t-thanks." I said, looking away. She looked up, correctly guessing that I was embarrassed, though, not the reason why.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You don't need to worry. Matter of fact, that's the largest one I've ever seen." She said, whispering the last part, barely loud enough for me to hear. My jaw just dropped and hung down for a few seconds before I closed my mouth.

"So," She said quickly, trying, and, kinda, succeeding, to break the embarrassing atmosphere that came up, and gestured to my clothes. "Where shall I set these, sir?"

"U-uh, anywhere you wish, Nurse...-san." I doubt I'd be able to get used to honorifics like those any time soon, maybe. Especially because I had limited knowledge of the Japanese language, and much of it was learned through anime.

She walked over to the side of my bed, opposite of my bag, and set the clothes down. She, then, turned, gave a small bow in my direction, and walked away before I could get a word out.

I stared at the door, she had closed it, and sighed. I didn't even get to learn her name. Such misfortune. 'Oh well' I thought. 'At least she left before it could get even more awkward'

I got up, leaned against the window, and stared out at the person who was tied up. I frowned. It was Roronoa Zoro, of course. I had a suspicion that it was him. That, also, meant that there was only, at least, a month until Luffy and Coby showed up. I had to find out what to do before then.

On one hand, I could probably but into their fight, help them, and become their Nakama, which was really doubtful, I mean, why would they immediately accept me as their Nakama for something like that, especially without them knowing me at all.

Then, on the other hand, I could, after they fight, when they're preparing to leave, which I _had_ to be involved in somehow, even if they wouldn't accept me immediately, I could ask for a ride to Loguetown, getting to know everyone and, possibly, become their Nakama.

Then, on my Left Foot, I could just ignore Luffy and the Straw Hats, become a civilian, probably find someone, then die at a ripe old age, or, on the right foot, I could become a Marine... **sigh** 'I'll, at least, have to try and befriend them.

I think I'm going to have a hard time with this. Especially with how I've been feeling lately. Besides feeling presences around me, throughout the whole facility I was in, I felt these... appendage? like... things or was it just a feeling that I could move things. Whatever it was, it was weird. Though, I haven't tried to use this weird... thing. I was... not scared, but _anxious_ of what it did. I remember watching a movie about something like this, though, they didn't have the strange invisible appendages, it was called Chronicle. Maybe that freak lightning bolt did something to me. I sighed, 'Whatever, I'll figure it out later' I thought.

* * *

_**Marine Base, Shells Town, East Blue**_

It had been a few days since I woke up. Throughout that time I had been there, the Marines had been really accommodating, it's a bit odd, really. I hadn't expected them to be acting that way. I was even given back my pocket knife by Lieutenant Percival, I didn't even know he had it in the first place. He gave it back because he didn't deem me much of a threat, is what he said. I wouldn't have really harmed anyone in the first place, that is, unless they harmed me first.

I had experimented with the appendage thingies or the power, whatever it was, the past few days when I had nothing to do and I wasn't being watched. I was able to lift my knife up and twirl it around, now, though it _did_ give me a nosebleed. It kinda freaked me out, I don't usually have nosebleeds. I had to wipe off all of the blood from my nose and mouth before the nurse came back, she went to get me a lunch from the canteen. There was also something going on, besides with the gravity of this world being a bit wonky, my extra appendage, and the thing with me feeling the presences of people. I think I was being hidden from Captain Morgan... Though, I wouldn't blame them. He probably would have thrown me off of the Island. I couldn't pay taxes or anything in the first place. He'd probably want taxes or a tribute from me.

As I threw the tissue in the trash, the one that I had used to wipe up the blood, the nurse knocked on the door.

**Knock** **Knock,** she knocked...

"Ah, Come in, please." I called out, knowing it was her. The same 5 foot 4 inch beauty from the day before. She had apologized about her manners from when she brought my clothes and even given me her name, it was Maehara Shinobu, she was 19 years old, like me. It was a nice name, if I do say so for my self. I had to give her a fake name, though, which sucked. I chose to go with a name from one of my favorite anime, Detective Conan. So, I gave her the name Shinichi. Which I was going to go by from now on. Though, one of the meanings of that name was kinda ironic. Seriously, Truth, One. Or, One Truth...

"Shinichi-san, here is your lunch, I hope you like it." She said, handing the tray over to me.

"Thank you very much." I replied, then continued before starting to eat. "Itadakimasu." She got on to me during breakfast, saying: "You should say 'Itadakimasu before your meals. It shows respect, not just to the cook, but to the people who procured the food that's on your plate and the god that you may worship." I just sat there dumbly for a moment before conceding.

Once I was finished eating she took the tray and handed it to someone outside the door. "Lieutenant Percival gave permission for you to go on a walk for the afternoon." She told me.

"Hmmm. Okay," I replied. "May I ask where my shoes are?" After asking that she looked a bit sheepish.

'They' and 'thrown' where the only things I could make out of her response. So, I, so eloquently, asked her: "What?"

She sighed at the question, looking resigned. "They where thrown out." She said.

"Hmmm~. Why didn't you just say so?" I asked with a tilted head and knitted eyebrows.

"Well... I thought you'd be mad." She said, looking down at the ground. "They were covered in blood and ruined. Though," She looked up, with her eye's alight, and a smile on her face. "One of the Chore boys were sent out to get you a pair of Geta and Jika-tabi. We got the size's down from your shoes, though, we had to guess which number it was."

I looked at her glowing smile and I couldn't be mad at her, or anyone else for that matter, no matter what, my old shoes were just about done with, anyways. "Ah, of course that's fine, though I haven't worn anything like these before." I said to her, and it seemed like her smile only got brighter.

She went to the door and got a package from who I assumed to be the guard, or one of the guards, that was going to escort me around. She came back with the small box a few seconds later and handed it to me. I opened the box and, there, sitting in it, was a pair of Jika-tabi and Geta underneath that. The Jika-tabi where Black and the Geta were stained red. They looked Awesome.

I put the Geta on, I'd wear the Jika-tabi another time. I walked around until I felt fine walking in the Geta and I went to the door, expecting to leave right away. But, before I touched the door, I turned around towards Shinobu.

"Are you coming along?" I asked her, wondering, either way, if she was going to come or not.

"E-eh?" Surprise shown on her face which, soon, morphed into a small smile. "Of course!, I would love to come. I was just given the day off by Lieutenant Percival not that long ago. I just have to go get ready, I'll meet you here soon." Her answer was rushed in the beginning, but she calmed soon after, and then went to change. I just went and sat back on my bed.

'Hopefully I'll be able to get a pebble or something to practice my ability' I thought. I couldn't wait until I was able to fly, if it were possible, of course. That would be totally awesome.

"Shinichi-kun?" Shinobu's voice brought me out of my daydream. I was flying hundreds of feet up in the air, doing flips and cannonballs into clouds. "Are you okay? You have a little droll coming out of your mouth."

I quickly wiped it away, flustered, and denying anything she may have seen. The reply I got was an unexpected giggle, which made her sound like an Angel... 'OH MY GOD' I thought in horror. 'THIS IS LIKE A SHOUJO MANGA!'

I had to stop thinking like that. '_MAYBE SHE'S TRYING TO CONVERT ME INTO A SUPER GOOD LAW ABIDING PERSON... _or even worse... _A MARINE!_' It looked like my paranoia followed me to this world.

"Shinichi-kun!" She said a bit forcefully, this time. 'Oh my God. _SHE'S USING THE -kun HONORIFIC! I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE USE TO SUFFIXES SO FAST!_' I hadn't _noticed_ that. "Hmmm. Maybe we shouldn't go out today."

"_W-w-what?!_" I gasped out in horror. "No, nonono. I'm perfectly fine, Shinobu...-chan?" She tilted her head and a smile came to her face.

"So, how about we get going?" I asked, already at the door. "I'd like to walk around town for a little while, to see what the place's like." She nodded, looking a bit excited. She skipped towards me, grabbed my arm, and started to, practically, drag me out of the base. A Marine, the one that guarded my door, started following us as we left, but I ignored him and, in the span of 10 seconds, completely forgot about him.

On the way towards the front gate, we had to walk buy the prisoner, Zoro, not that I was supposed to know his name. So, I asked for it. From Shinobu, of course. I mean, who else was I going to ask.

"Hey, Shinobu-chan, what's that guys name?" I asked her

"E-eh," She stumbled, making me step forward to catch her around her waste. She blushed, not that I noticed. I was to busy looking at Zoro. "His name's... Roronoa Zoro." She said in a whisper, while looking down at the ground. "...Captain Morgan's son, Helmeppo, had him tied there for killing his pet wolf."

"Hmmmm~. Why'd he do that?" I questioned.

"I don't know." Is all she replied, stepping to go forward, and she started to drag me towards the town.

"Can I ask him?" I asked her. The immediate reply that I got was a loud "NO!" and... Zoro looked over towards us. Shinobu looked like she wanted to crawl into a whole and die, I waved my left hand, and arm, to Zoro, and Zoro... looked away and fell asleep... or that's what it looked like.

"C-c-can w-we j-j-just g-go?" Shinobu asked timidly. It nearly broke my heart with how adorable she was. And then we left.

* * *

_**Street, Shells Town, East Blue, Same Day**_

"So," I started. "What's there to do for fun around here?" I asked her. We were walking along one of the many streets of Shells Town, one of the larger off-street's of the main street that headed along from the Port to the Marine's Base.

"Uhhhh. Well, there are many things to do. I guess it depends on your interests." She answered my question. "Though, usually, if I'm not working at my job, I'm just studying to be the best Nurse that I can be. I love my job"

"It doesn't have anything to do with looking at guy's things, does it?" I asked in mirth.

"NO!" She shouted, before correcting herself. "I-I-I mean, no" She turned her nose up, like she was looking down on something. "Of course I wouldn't do something like that."

"You looked at mine." I teased her. "Even said it was...-"

"NO~~!" She whined/yelled at the same time. "I didn't mean to say that. It was an accident, anyways. I didn't _mean_ to look."

"HAAAAHAHAHA." I practically roared in laughter. "I'm only teasing you, jeez." I continued on. "You're so easy to rile up."

"Buuu~~. You're so mean." Ah, so adorable. She puffed out her cheeks when she did the buuu~ thing. I thought chicks only did that in an-... Oh, yeah... I forgot. 'Duh' I thought, smacking myself in the forehead.

"Eh, Shinichi-kun, is something the matter?" Shinobu, unexpectedly, asked. "Are you not feeling well? We could always go back to the Base."

"N-no. I'm fine. Can we continue?" I asked, then hurriedly continued. "Oh, look, there's a clothes shop. Can we check it out?" Luckily there _was_ a clothing shop. Girls loved clothes, right?

"Oh!" Shinobu exclaimed. "That's Haru's shop. She just recently got a shipping of Chichi-ue's newest fashion design."(2) Shinobu was jumping up and down on the balls of her feet, doing something very, _very _interesting to her chest area. Not that I was looking, of course... Heh, heh. I'm not a pervert. I'm an upstanding gentleman...

"Chichi-ue?" I questioned. She immediately stopped, then looked at me in horror.

"Y-...you, don't know who Chichi-ue is?" She asked me with wide eyes full of terror.

"Uhh... No. Am I supposed to?" I asked her back. 'Matter of fact, this Chichi-ue person wasn't in the Manga _or_ Anime, either. Is he one of the results of me being here? A... what do you call it? A bug?, an Abnormality?, a glitch?... something like that, Ano-something. 'It's something that doesn't belong'. I was broken out of my thoughts when Shinobu suddenly gave me a hug.

"You poor, poor thing. Not knowing who Chichi-ue is." She said with tears in her eyes and then held on to me for around a moment or two, and, at one point, I swear she groped my butt. "I can't have you not knowing who Chichi-ue is." She said, and then continued in a lecturing tone, letting go of me and making gestures with her hands. "Chichi-ue is one of the, if not the only, leading fashion designers of the world. He has been for the past Ten or so years, maybe even longer."

"Hmmm. That's amazing. To be a leading fashion designer, of the world, in the Great Pirate Age." I said to her.

"Of course he is," She said, with her nose held up to the world. "_Everyone_ our age should know about Chichi-ue. He is simply that much of a genius."

"So... How come I don't know about him?" I deadpanned. 'Though, I shouldn't be teasing her like this, I mean, I hadn't been in this world for more than a week'.

"Cause, you lost a lot of your memory. That, most likely, explains _why_ you don't know." She said, before continuing. "Anyways, we best visit Haru's shop. I need to check out the latest dresses."

* * *

_**Haruki's Shop, Shells Town, East Blue**_

Once we were inside Haru's shop Shinobu went to talk with the owner of the store. She left me looking around at all of the stuff that was on display. A few awesome pairs of shirts here, a few awesome pairs of shorts there, and I was done looking after ten minuets.

I looked up, not seeing Shinobu anywhere, so I went to ask the owner of the shop where she was.

"Excuse me," I said to the person manning the counter. "Are you Haru-san?"

"Hmmm." The person looked up from the newspaper they where reading. "Yes, I am, How may I help you?" She asked, in a bored fashion.

"Ahh. Ummm. I was wandering if you know where Shinobu-chan went?" I asked her. She looked at me for a few seconds before pointing to a hallway.

"She's down that hallway, first stall on the left." She, helpfully, supplied with a glint in her eye's.

"Thank you." I said, walking as fast as I could away from the dangerous looking owner and down the hallway.

I reached the first stall on the left in just about no time at all. I reached forward- and tripped on absolutely nothing. I fell forward, almost ripping the cloth curtain that was covering the stall down.

So, I was holding the cloth curtain entirely open on one side, I had my other hand holding myself up on the other side of the stall, and the only thing I could see where two small balloon-like things. Strangely enough, they would be around the size of Shinobu's...

I looked up, seeing a red-faced Shinobu. Shinobu's face turned red, then white, and then turned red again. Though, this time in anger. You know the things that I saw? They where being held in a bra type thing. On Shinobu's chest.

I could only get one thought through my head before a well placed punch to the temple knocked me out.

It was this.

'Oh, My, God! Shinobu's a dude!'

* * *

(1) Right here, the Lieutenant got a bit confused. He thought that Shinichi said that he couldn't tell him his name. That is, if you didn't already know.

(2)I just randomly came up with that Chichi-ue thing. It wasn't planned.

**Thanks for reading. All of this was practically off the top of my head. I hadn't planned entering the Awesome Shinobu into this fic, at all, even though he is a minor character. Hell, I hadn't even planned on Shinobu being a dude. It just came to me, randomly, out of nowhere. Shinobu was supposed to be a beautiful young lady. Luffy should be showing up in the next chapter, hopefully. I don't really know where I'm going with this. I only have a few things planned out in the future. Really awesome things, if I do say so myself. I would tell you what those things are, but, I don't like Spoilers.**

**I hope I didn't contradict myself at all. If you find any horrible errors, please leave a review. Oh, and, Who is Lieutenant Percival? You ask. I got inspiration from Commodore Perry. Look him up.**

**Please review if you wish, I wouldn't terribly mind if you did. XD**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Edited on the Date of March 25th, 2013**_

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or anything else that I may reference, besides my own ideas, of course.

**Summary: ****What do you do when a portal of some type suddenly appears out of thin air? Do you shut your laptop? Do you throw your computer out the window? Or do you jump in the portal without absolutely any thought what so ever? What do I do, you may ask?... Well, you'll just have to read on and find out for yourself.**

Flying High

by

Kine X

_I was laying down, napping, with my arms around my head, like a pillow, facing the sky. A large tree was positioned a foot or two away, covering me with shade._

_Suddenly, it brightened, I opened my eyes and looked towards the tree. It was gone. I was, then, overshadowed by something else. I looked. Sighed. It was only Shinobu._

"_You scared me, Shinobu-chan." I said to her._

"_Hehehe." She giggled. "That was what I intended to do, Silly."_

"_Oh~. Why don't you help silly, ole me up, then?" I told her, reaching out my hand._

"_Hmmm. I suppose I can." She said, reaching and clasping my hand. Once I had a good hold, I _pulled_, bringing her down on top of me._

"_Kya!" She let out a small scream on the way down. "Shinichi!" She exclaimed. "Be careful, you might hurt one of us." She said, gesturing to her bulging stomach. I had almost forgotten. Shinobu had been pregnant for almost seven months._

"_Oh." I exclaimed in worry. "Are you alright?" I asked._

"_Yes. You just surprised me, is all." She replied with a small smile on her face, then she continued. "It's almost time for my doctor's appointment."_

"_Ah. That's right." I said. "You wanted to be there a bit early."_

"_Yup. I cannot wait to find out what the little bugger is. I'm guessing a boy, what with how much it kicks." She said. And it _did_ kick a lot. The little thing kept her up at night quite a few times. We were originally supposed to find out it's gender a couple of months ago, but we were a bit indecisive about knowing it. We decided to find out on her next appointment._

"_Yeah. We should get going. Otherwise we're going to be late." I said to her. I stood up after laying with her by my side for a few more minutes before getting up._

"_Here," I said. Holding out my hand. "Let me help you up." She held out her hand and I pulled her up. Though, suddenly, it was like she grew tonnes. She was now towering over me by two feet._

"_Is there something wrong?" She asked, looking down at me. Seemingly not noticing the height difference at all._

"_W-w-w-w-" I couldn't get a word out, this was all so bizarre._

"_Is something wrong?... Shi**ni**chi**-kun?**" She asked again. Though, this time, her voice distorted, deeper, upon saying my name._

_I blinked. Were those _FANGS_ growing up from her bottom two canines?... Yup. **FANGS.**_

"_**Is something wrong? Shi**ni**chi-kun?" **This time her voice only distorted once, though it was mostly deeper, instead, this time._

_Suddenly she started growing taller. She grew from seven feet to Twenty. Her breasts _popped_ leaking out a bunch of air and the dress that she was wearing was shredded. I was, suddenly, capable of seeing her bulging stomach and something... some _things_ dangling in between her legs._

"_**SHINICHI-KUN!" **The thing's voice came out in a boom. **"IS SOMETHING WRONG?"**_

_I looked around for a place to run. But everything was black. I knew there was no point in running, now. There was nowhere to go._

"_**SHINICHI-KUN!" **It picked me up, it's whole hand fitting around my chest and waste, and held me close to it's face. **"IS SOMETHING WRONG!" **It roared out and started squeezing._

"_**SHINICHI-KUN!"**_

"_**SHINICHI-KUN!"**_

"_**SHIIIINIIIICHIIII-KUUUUN!"**_

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly I awoke in a loud scream, gasping for air and sweating like a faucet on full blast.

**BAM** The door was suddenly slammed open. A Marine was standing there with his rifle held up. He was looking around wildly. Like someone had screamed bloody mur-... Oh, wait... He looked towards me, seeing the state that I was in.

"Yeh ukay, bud?" He asked me with a small frown on his face, bringing his rifle down. "Sunded like sumune screamin like they gut thur jewels choped off."

"Y-yeah." I gasped out, trying to bring my breathing levels back to normal. "I-I'll be fine"

"Yeh sure?" He asked, then continued. "Luuks like yeh had une helluva scaaary dream."

"Y...yeah. I'll be fine." I was able to get out.

"Are yeh really, really sure, lad? If yeh dun mind talkin abut it, I dun mind listenin." He asked me again. He seemed like a really cool dude. Being worried about me n' all.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." I got out better than before. "I just need a few minutes and I'll be fine. It's not the worst nightmare I've ever had."

"... If yer sure." He said. "I'll be ut here fer a while, yet. If yeh be needen me, I'll be there t' talk." He, then, turned back and walked out of my room with a wave over his shoulder.

"THANKS!" I quickly called to him before he could shut my door.

He stuck his head through the crack. "Nu Prublem." He said, before closing the door.

'Awesome guy. Seems like not _all_ Marines were douches.' I thought, before reflecting on my... Nightmare. It was one of the scariest dreams that I've had in years. I mean, _Shinobu_ being a giant, pregnant, du-... _'SHINOBU-CHAN'S A DUDE. SH-HE KNOCKED ME OUT.'_... It would really explain the headache that I had. Though, I couldn't get my head around Shinobu being a dude. It was, really, quite a surprise. I didn't expect someone that... _cute_ to be an Okama. 'I wonder if she knows about Ivankov?' I... wondered to myself. 'Or of Kamabakka Kingdom on Momoiro Island? I'll have to ask Her.' I decided. Why not address him as her. He clearly wishes to be a female, or, at least, to act as one in some way.

'I'll leave all of that for later' I thought to myself. I got up off of my bed and looked towards the Clock. It was around four or five in the morning, I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't tell. I was, most likely, knocked out around five or six. I got plenty of sleep for the night. At _least_ eight hours. I looked out the window and noticed that the courtyard Zoro was contained in was illuminated rather well. Zoro was tied to his cross rocking his head about back and forth, like he was listening to some music or something. I'd imagine being stuck there for twenty something days _does_ get to be boring. 'It's almost time for Luffy and Coby to make their appearance' I thought, suddenly. 'They should be here really soon. Maybe a day or two.'

I opened my window and sat on the seal, lifting one of my legs to prop my head and elbow on. I might as well get some practice with my telekinesis, that seemed like the smart thing to do at the moment, I _had_ to get stronger with it. As I looked out, I noticed that only a few windows held light and it was quiet- except for Zoro's humming, that I just noticed. I sat there for a minute and then _picked up_ one of the rocks that were under my window, twirled it in a small dance around my bare foot and I also did other things with it, like rolling it across my toes. After a while of doing this, I looked up at Zoro, who was still humming, 'I didn't know he hummed', and a grin full of mirth was brought to my face.

I took the index and middle finger of my right hand and held them out, tucking my other two fingers in and laying my thumb flat. I made my rock _fly_ over to Zoro and above his head. I brought my fingers down like I was tapping a desk.

-Thump-

Zoro stopped humming and looked up just as I made the rock go behind him. I did it again, only in the back of the head this time.

-Thump-

Zoro growled. I let out a small laugh, which seemed like a stupid thing to do cause it was so quiet out. He snapped his head towards me with a glare on his face. The only thing I did was wave my fingers about and gesture for the rock to come around to the front of his head, where he was, still, staring towards me. This time I _flicked_ my fingers towards his head multiple times.

-Thump-Thump-**Thump-**

The last time was a bit harder, though. It caused Zoro to raise his voice at me.

"Stop it!" He, as quietly as he could, hissed towards me. I ignored him and did it again, which got a scowl out of him.

-Thump-

I snickered. This was ammusing. I had no idea annoying someone like this could be so _fun_. I stopped, suddenly, and thought of the situation that he was in. 'Being annoyed by a random person while being tied up, hungry, and, probably, thirsty, for over twenty days' To say the least, I stopped. It _was_ kinda mean. I'd hate someone doing that to me.

So, instead, I sighed and dropped the rock, got off of my perch, and went back into my room. I slumped down onto my bed for a few seconds before coming up with something else that sounded fun. I stood back up again. I looked for a piece of paper, or parchment, or whatever they used here and, after a few minutes of looking, found some paper in a drawer. I, then, folded it into an airplane, I went back to my perch, and I threw it out the window. I _guided_ the craft around the courtyard. I made it fly up, around, and let it fall and glide, I made it do barrel rolls and dive bombs. I did this for about twenty minutes before I got bored. I went for one last loop and accidental hit Zoro in the head... 'Whoops'... I noticed that Zoro had his head leaned back and... was snoring. I sighed.

I brought the plane back to my self and put it in my backpack. I took out my Dr. Pepper. I only had half of it left, so, I decided I might as well finish it off. I could rinse the bottle out later and fill it up with fresh water.

I sat back up against the bed frame under the window and drank my DP. I was really, really bored. So, I decided to practice again. But with something heavier. I wanted to stress myself today.

I took my Geta and kinda did the same thing that Andrew, from Chronicle, did with his camcorder. It wasn't really to hard. Though, after an hour of twirling and tossing it about I finally got bored of practice and stopped.

I was getting a bit better at it- Making something go where I want it to go and holding it up for a long time. I'll try something a bit heavier later. Maybe a full bottle of water.

'Hmmm' I thought. 'I might as well go take a shower', I hadn't been able to get one before going to sleep cause, well, I didn't sleep, I was knocked out.

I got up, grabbed a pair of clothes, and went into the bathroom to take my shower.

'I still have to talk to Shinobu later' I thought, just before getting in. 'I hope she'll come around later'

'After all, I'll be leaving soon... Hopefully'

* * *

**The Room I Am Occupying, Marine Base, Shells Town, East Blue**

It's Noon, now. I had been laying in bed messing with a rock practically since I had gotten out of the bathroom. Shinobu _still_ hasn't stopped by. I was starting to get worried. 'Maybe she hates me' I thought at one point. 'I discovered her secret- I doubt anyone on base knows about it'

The** Knock** **Knock** at the door interrupted the funk I was in. I bolted into a sitting position, hoping that it was Shinobu, I was wanting to apologize about accidentally ripping the curtain open on her. But, alas, it wasn't to be. It was the same Marine from earlier this morning. I never did learn his name, so...

"Hey, uh...?" I spoke in a questioning tone with a confused look on my face.

"Yah?" He asked. I sat there for a minute with wide eyes. I didn't think he didn't know I didn't know his name.

"Ah... Um... W-what's your name?" I asked, then continued quickly. "If I may ask, I mean."

"Hu? Ahhh! Yah. Yeh cun call meh Watanabe." He said, with a grin on his face. He had graying, frizzy hair poking out the sides and back of his Marine's cap and he looked to be around 5 and a half feet.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Watanabe-san," I said, with a smile on my face. Watanabe's been a kind dude, so far. "So, did you need something?" I, then, asked.

"Hmm~" He grabbed his chin with his thumb and pointer finger and looked down, thinking, for a few seconds. "Ah!," He exclaimed, pounding his right fist into his right hand. "I came tuh see if yeh wunted t' gu ut?"

I looked at him with a horrified expression- before it quickly morphed into realization. 'He wasn't asking me out' I thought in relief. 'He was asking if I wanted to go _out_'

"Uh... Sure." I said. "I might as well get some fresh air today."

* * *

**On our way out of the Base, Marine Base, Shells Town, East Blue**

So, we went outside. It was quite a sunny day. Just like it had for the past few days that I had been here. It was getting a bit boring. As we were walking out towards the front gate I saw that Zoro was _still_ sleeping. Of course I should have expected that, but, whatever.

"Tha's Rurunua Zuru." I heard from next to me. "He was put there... It'll be... three weeks since then, tumurruw."

"Roronoa Zoro? Who's he?" I asked.

"He's uh pirate 'unter. It's uh real shame he was tied there." Watanabe said. "I've spuken t' em quite uh few times. He's uh pulite fella."

"Ohhhh~, Do you know why he was tied there?" I asked. Even though I already knew _why_ he was tied there, I wanted to here a different side to the story. I like knowing all the parts to a puzzle, even the solved ones. They're, almost, all unique- Oh, and I had to make it seem, to the Marines, like I had absolutely _no_ idea what was going on. I suspected some of them knew that I wasn't amnesiac, but, whatever.

"Ah." He started before taking a large breath. "He wus put there cause of that stupid Helmeppu"

"Helmeppo?" I asked, already understanding how he talked.

"Yuh. Tha Captain's son." He said, with a sneer on his face. "Captain Murgan's son, eh iz. Captain Murgan's a 'orrible fella. Practically taken all tha civilian's fer all their wurth- thugh, dun't let anyune knuw I said tha'."

"Captain Morgan..." I said aloud. "I've never had the... _pleasure_ of meeting him."

"Hu? Never had thu _pleasure_?" Watanabe looked at me like I was crazy. "Why tha hell wuld 'u wunt tha _pleasure_ 'f meetin em?"

"Uh... It's a figure of speech." I told him. Even though Watanabe _seemed_ like a kind due, he wasn't very bright. "An-" I was cut off.

"Uh figure 'f speech?! Tha hell's that?" He asked me. "Sum surta fancy Edumacatiun thingy?"

"N-no. It's not a fancy _anything_. I believe that regular people use them, too," I told him. "And besides, I never said I _wanted_ to meet him. I said that I never had the pleaseure of meeting him."

"Haaa~" A _noise_ came out of his mouth. "I knuw tha', bub. I never said yeh _wunted_ tah meet em."

"O-oh... Okay." It looks like I was mistaken about something, oh well. "So, back to how _horrible_ Captain Morgan is."

"Heh. Like I said, Captain Murgan's uh right bastard, yes eh is. Eh's as currupt as they cume. I can' wait until tha day tha' eh's thruwn uver." Watanabe looked _furious_ with Morgan.

"So... Why hasn't anyone done something?" I asked, truly curious. 'They have more people than Morgan does. He was, most likely, all by himself. Well, except for those who were more cowardly than the others. Maybe that's why'

"It's cause he's strunger than us." Was an answer that I didn't expect. Though, Morgan _was_ really strong and the Marines, here, didn't look too strong.

"So... there's... no one strong enough on this Island to defeat him?" I asked.

"Yup. Tha strungest une 'ere is Cummander Ripper, but eh's nut as strung as Murgan."

"Hmmm. So, what did Zoro do to Helmeppo?" I asked. Getting back to my original question.

"Eh killed 'is pet wulf." Watanabe said.

"_Why_ did he have a pet _wolf_?" Seriously. Why would you have a pet wolf on an Island like this. It was stupid... Well, Helmeppo _is_ pretty stupid. All I got for my question was a "Dun nu." By the time we were finished with our conversation we were at a bar. A really, really, familiar bar.

I looked towards the bar once we were inside. It was Ririka. My eye's went wide. Why the _hell_ were we in _here_?

"Yu, Ririka." Watanabe said upon entering the bar. Ririka looked up and smiled towards him.

"Ah, Watanabe-san, please make yourself at home." She, then, turned back to what she was doing.

"I cume 'ere fer jus' abut every meal. It's like a secund hume fer meh," He said, quietly, to me, as we headed over to sit at a table. "An this is prubably where yeh 'r gunna be wurking." I stopped just as I was about to sit down and I looked over to him.

"What do you _mean_ this is were I'll be working?" I asked him, incredulously.

"Well, yeh gutta du sumtin when yer released tumurruw, and this is a fine place." I just looked at him for a moment to gauge whether he was serious or not.

"I'm being released tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Ha?" He looked up, before continuing. "Uf curse yeh 'r. Why wuldn' yeh be?"

"W-well... this is the first time I've heard anything of the sort."

"Ha...? Shinubu-chan didn't tell yu?" He asked in exasperation, then continued. "She was suppused tu tell yu yesterday."

"Uh... Oh. I was, kinda, uh, indisposed, then." I said, looking anywhere but at him.

"Hmmm. Well, whutever, I'll tell yeh nuw. Yer bein released t'murruw," He told me, pointing his index finger at my chest, then added. "yu were deemed healthy by the duc."

"I...see. So, you came here to see if I could get a job from Ririka-san?" I asked him. Working for her didn't sound so bad, though, I hated doing dishes. Those are vile, vile things.

"Nu, I asked er tha uther day. I _knew_ yeh wuld be fine ta wurk." He said to me. "I knew yeh were fine since tha first time I saw yuh."

"O... oh, then, this is my interview?" Watanabe held his head on his hand and replied.

"Nupe, this is yer first day." He said, unexpectedly.

"_W-WHAT_?" I yelled. Just then, I felt a presence come to the side of us.

"Watanabe-san is correct." Ririka said, then continued with a smile. "You'll be starting soon, that is, if you wish to work here."

"E-ehhh~. B-but you don't even _know_ me!", '_Why_ would she even hire me without knowing me? She looked like a cautious person in the Anime' But, that was _only_ when things got violent. 'She... seems like a good mother, then, if that's the reason'

"Ah. It's okay." She said, "Watanabe-san has told me a bit about you, how you're always so polite, among other things."

"Oh. I hope he didn't say anything bad." I said, sitting up straight and scratching my cheek.

"Of course not. Only good things," A mischievous grin came across her face, "or at least I think."

I blushed, wondering what, all, Watanabe said about me. Hopefully it wasn't anything embarrassing. Then a thought crossed my mind, 'Where will I be staying? If I'm being released tomorrow, I'll be needing a place to live' So, I voiced my concerns.

"Ah... Um. Watanabe-san, if I'm being released tomorrow, where will I be staying?" I asked him with a worried look on my face. I couldn't just sleep in an _alley_.

"Ah, Shinichi-san, you may stay in my guest room." Ririka spoke up. "At least until you have enough room to rent a place from someone." I looked to her in thanks. She really _was_ nice. I stood up and gave a bow.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH." I shouted, then I stood up straight in realization, pointing my finger up, "Ah! We should introduce ourselves, Boss. I'm Shinichi. It is a pleasure to meet you." I held out my hand for her to shake. She grabbed my hand, lightly, and we shook.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Shinichi-san. My name is Ririka," She said, while shaking my hand. "And it's about time we get to work, you can wash dishes at the moment, right?"

"YES, Boss Lady." I exclaimed, both excited and put out, even if this was my first job, I still hated washing the dishes. "I used to wash dishes every day when I was a kid. I will do my best."

"Then, I might as well show you to the back. Right after I take Watanabe-san's order." She said, before turning to Watanabe.

"Hmm." His eyes were a bit glossy looking, like he was remembering something, before coming to. "Ah. I'll have the usual, Ririka."

Ririka just nodded before heading into the back, gesturing me to follow her.

"I'll just show you how to use everything before letting you loose." She said before taking on a stern tone. "You will be working until two-o'clock and then you may do whatever you wish for the rest of the day, If you go somewhere please be back before dark, and the hours you work will be from six-o'clock A.M. To two-o'clock P.M. Do you understand? Or do you need anything repeated?" She asked. I gave her a grin.

"Six to Two every day, come back before dark, and I don't even drink. I understand."

"Oookay, you will start your schedule tomorrow. You _do_ have to be released before you are able to stay here, you're just working a little bit today, to get the ropes, of course." She told me.

"I understand." I said. "Once I'm fr-released tomorrow I will come by and start working right away."

"Good," She said to me. "We'll start now."

* * *

**The room I am Occupying, Marine Base, Shells Town, East Blue**

It had been a while since I got back from 'Ririko's Bar'. So, it's around eight or nine-o'clock. It was already quite dark out and dinner was just brought to me. I ate most of it before thinking about Zoro, he hadn't had anything to eat for close to three weeks. I took the small loaf of bread that I had on my small plate before putting it in my pack along with my Dr. Pepper bottle that's filled with water, I finished it earlier. I took my tray and opened the door and handed it to the guard that was staying there.

"Oh? You're done already?" Asked the guard, Eiji was his name. "I didn't expect you to finish so quickly, you've had a long day, huh?"

"Yeah, I just got a job and I'll be working there for a little while." I told him.

"Yeah? Well, good luck, then." He said, before setting the tray down and continuing. "Have a good night, Shinichi."

"Thanks, Eiji, Good Night." I replied. I came back into the room, turned off my light and waited a half hour before putting on my Geta. I took out the loaf of bread and bottle of water. I decided to give Zoro something to eat and drink. It seemed like something that I _had_ to do. 'I couldn't just watch a man starve' I thought.

I opened the window as quietly as I could. But, before I could climb onto the seal and jump off, I remembered that I was kinda distinctive, what with my height of six feet and three inches, and how I was known for wearing shorts only.

So, I grabbed a pair of dark blue trousers. Dark blue trousers that were provided by the Marines... They also provided a shirt, another pair of shoes, a blue neckerchief, a cap with the word "MARINE" printed on it and a form. Eiji, the Marine outside my door, gave me a package that was filled with the things and he said that I had a few more days to decide whether I wanted to be a Marine, even though I was leaving the Base, I wasn't leaving the Island, yet. Then he closed the door. I _will_ decline, of course. Though, being illiterate of their written language, which was, _somehow,_ the Japanese written language, played a small part of my decision in being able to fill out the form that was provided.

Then, I grabbed my hoodie and turned it inside out, putting the water bottle in the, now, inside pocket. I, then, threw a white shirt on over that, I didn't want to be recognizable, and hopped up to the window seal. I jumped off of the seal and was _guided_ down to the ground by my telekinesis, which has progressed a lot, I was able to pick up the bed that I've been sleeping in, though, to be fair, the bed only weighed, at least, thirty to fourty pounds.

The building that I was in was connected to the courtyard that contained Zoro and my room was the closest to him.

Once I landed on the ground, I looked around to see if anyone saw me. There was no one guarding him for some weird reason, though, there were Guards guarding the Large Entrance Gate.

I ran, as quietly as I could, over to Zoro.

"Roronoa Zoro," I whispered, "Wake up!"

Zoro didn't wake up, he just let out a snort.

My eye twitched.

"_ZORO!"_ I, _quietly_, yelled into his ear.

He _still_ didn't wake up.

I sighed. It was time to go with my back up plan. I put the _small_ loaf of bread into my other, inside pocket. I dusted my hands off-

-And then...

…

…

…

I went for his sides...

Needless to say. He woke up, laughing.

**DEEEHAHAHAHAHA~**

"OI," I yelled quietly, "SHUT UP!" His laughter grew to snickers and he glared at me.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR" He shouted, drawing the attention of some Marines that were guarding the gates. I, quickly, so as to not get caught, hid behind the cross that he was hung on. I heard someone approaching and I seen light from a lantern. Then, after a minute of sitting still, I heard them walk away.

"Come on out," Zoro said quietly, "The Marine's gone."

I got up and and peeked out to the side. Whoever was there is gone now.

"So, what did you want?" He asked, "I was having a good dream." I came out from behind his cross and stood in front of him.

"Sorry about that." I said, "I'm Shinichi. Nice ta meet you." Zoro just looked at me for a moment and replied in kind.

"I'm Zoro... So, what do you want?" He asked again, "You're lucky the Marines don't really care about doing their jobs. That one Marine was looking right at you." He said with a smirk, while I looked shocked.

"R-really? He looked _right_ at me?" I asked him, aghast.

"Ah. He looked at you, smirked, and left. You're really lucky he didn't take you in."

"Hmmm," I... hummed, slumping my shoulders. 'And I thought I was well hidden'

"So?" Zoro said with a raised eyebrow. I just looked at him before my eyes widened.

"That's right." I exclaimed, "I wanted to hear your side of the deal with Helmeppo."

"Why?" He asked, "It doesn't really matter, I'll be out within the next two weeks."

"Why does it _matter_?" I asked, incredulously, "It _matters_ because I _say_ it matters... It doesn't really help that I want to know, does it?" Zoro just looked at me, thinking, before sighing.

"_Fine_." He started, "There's not much to it, but, His little _pet_-sama was about to attack," He looked at little peeved, here "and maybe even kill, a little girl. I couldn't let it do that. So, I killed it. Helmeppo threatened to have the civilians that were involved killed and _I_ threatened _him_ this time. We made a deal, I get tied here for a month with no food or water, and he wouldn't have those people killed." It felt kinda awesome having one of _the_ Straw Hat Pirates talking to me. I almost missed his whole little speech.

"Is that so?" I said aloud, grabbing and holding my chin with a pensive look on my face, then I asked him something. "Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?"

"Ah." He replied with a large predatory grin on his face. I looked at him for a moment.

"Then, I gotta do the same." I said, pulling out the loaf of bread. Zoro widened his eyes, correctly assuming what I was intending to have him do.

"I can't eat that." He said with clenched teeth.

"Yes you can," I said, "What Helmeppo doesn't know won't hurt him." Zoro looked me in the eyes, probably deciding whether he should take it or not.

"I still can't take it." He finally told me. "I would be going back on our deal." I looked at him before sticking the bread under his nose, causing him to get a whiff of it and jerk his head back. "DAMN IT" He, as quietly as he could, yelled. "I'll not eat the _damned_ thing."

I could tell that he was just being stubborn. He was, most likely, really, really hungry. I could also, practically, see the droll that was piling up in his mouth. I thought on a way to make him eat it before my eyes widened. 'Maybe...' I thought.

"Don't tell me you're _embarrassed_?!" I asked in exasperation. He just looked away. I snickered and smirked. "So the great _Roronoa_ _Zoro_ is _embarrassed_ of being _fed_?!"

It was hilarious the way he snapped his head towards me. And so was the reply that I got.

"O-OF COURSE NOT!" He shouted, and any louder someone would have came and checked on him again, then asked. "Why the hell would I be embarrassed?" I snorted.

"So you _are_ embarrassed?"

"Of Course Not, you Idiot!"

"Then you'll eat it?" I asked and then pulled out the bottle of water, "And you'll also have some of this, too, right?"

Zoro just looked at me like I was the devil himself.

"Damn it." He said in a resigned tone and slumped shoulders in what was, probably, resignation. "I'll take it. Heck maybe even some of that water." He leaned his head up a bit and I followed with the bread. He took a bite and kept on till he was finished. I, then, had him tilt his head back to drink some.

"Gochisousama deshita." He said when he was finished.(1)

"So," I said. "Think you can last for at _least_ a little longer?"

"Of course I can." He said with a smug grin. "I could have lasted the whole entire month."

"Mhmm. Of course you could." I told him, breaking him out of his good mood. "I'll probably see you tomorrow night, I'll bring some meat, then. Good Night, Zoro." He was silent for a moment with his head down towards the ground.

"Ah. I'll hold you to it. Though, once I get outta here I have to pay you back somehow. And that's non-negotiable." He said, looking up at me, with fierce eyes. I was, kinda, surprised. I hadn't expected him to say that, not at all. Heck, at most, I only expected an 'Ah' or something like that. But, I only nodded my head in response and ran back to my room. It was getting pretty late and I had to be up early in the morning. Once I got to my room I put everything back where it was supposed to be and hopped in bed, falling asleep almost as soon as I closed my eyes.

* * *

**Ririko's Bar, Shells Town, East Blue**

I woke up early that day, around five A.M., and was quickly released. I got dressed as quickly as I could. I hurried over to Ririka's place, along with my stuff, I wanted to start as soon as I could. Once I got there she gave me a small notepad and assigned me a few tables that I would be waiting on, told me what to ask them when they sat down, and I quickly put my stuff up in the guest room, it was a Two-Story building, before taking a seat at the bar, I had to wait for someone to sit at one of my tables.

I had been working for about five hours when Ririka gave me a break. "You're off for half an hour," She said, "And I was wondering if you could go find Rika for me, it's about lunch time." I nodded with a 'Yeah, sure' thrown her way. Rika had left not that long ago, a few minutes, really, carrying a plate of Onigiri and I knew just where she was going. I was excited, I was, most likely, about to see Monkey D. Luffy.

I hang up my waiters apron and took off down the street towards the Marine's base, hoping to be there before everything was over.

* * *

I had just arrived when Rika jumped over the wall and slid down on the rope. To the left of the ladder were Coby and Luffy. I ran over near Luffy and _jumped_ up to the wall, guided by my telekinesis, and grabbed it, pulling myself up to look over.

"UWAAAA. THAT'S DANGEROUS," Coby yelled, "Luffy-san, Please stop her! She'll be killed!"

"Don't worry about her," I said. Both Coby and Luffy looked over towards me.

"WHY THE HECK SHOULDN'T WE?" Coby yelled at me this time.

"Cause Zoro won't hurt her." I said, simply. "Zoro's an honorable guy, he wouldn't _harm_ a child, let alone _kill_ one." Luffy looked over to me with wide eyes.

"Ohhh! So you know him, huh?" He asked excitedly. "Can you tell me about him?!"

I looked to Luffy and back to the courtyard. Helmeppo would be arriving soon and I wanted to mess around with him, like I did to Zoro.

"I know only so much about him. I talked to him last night and, well, besides him being honorable, he's..." I thought next on what to tell him before a smirk came to my face. "...Zoro's particularly ticklish on his sides."

"HOW THE HECK WOULD YOU KNOW THAT!?" Coby, again, yelled while Luffy just laughed. A small moment later we turned towards the confrontation that was going on with Zoro and Rika. Coby was a bit grumpy while Luffy had a smile on his face.

While Zoro and Rika were talking I looked around for a rock, I found one that was flat and about the size of a golf ball. I took the rock and made it fly over to the gate that I knew Helmeppo would come in and I kept a _tag_, I guess you could call it, on the rock.

I made up the _tag_ when I was messing around with a pebble and threw it. I diddn'twant to _lose_ it so I, subconsciously, kept a small piece of my _Awareness_ attatched to it. Now, when I say awareness, I mean that it's like a piece of my consciouness, though, it's only a small piece. Or, at least, _something_ like that.

I turned back towards them when I heard from Rika, "Here, this is my first time... But- I made them with all my heart." Zoro looked taken aback.

"I'm not hungry!" He said, "You're annoying. Hurry up and go home!"

"B-but..." Her shoulders slumped.

"I don't want any. Don't make me hurt you!" Zoro warned.

"You shouldn't be bullying kids." Helmeppo suddenly interupted them from the open gates. He appeared there with two other Marines, holding his collar with one hand and his fingers up. "Hehehehehe. Looks like your still doing well, Roronoa Zoro."

"And _another_ weird guy appears!" Luffy said from my side. 'Does that mean I'm weird?' I thought.

"Thank Goodness," Coby said, relieved, "They're Marines, I'm sure that girl will be fine now."

"Ohh~, those Onigiri look pretty good." Helmeppo said, bending to take a better look at them. He, then, snatched one from her hand. I sniffed and held my nose up. That was really rude, taking something out of her hand like that, _he didn't even ask_. I took the rock that was over by the gate and made it go towards them. I jumped up to sit on the wall and took the same position that I did the other night and, just as Helmeppo put the onigiri in his mouth, I hit him in the back of the head. Like I was reprimanding him.

**-Whack**-

"ITAII!" He yelled, dropping the onigiri. He turned toward the guard that was standing to his right and my rock went behind his head. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, YOU IDIOT!" He yelled. The guard put his hands up and took a step back.

"I-_I didn't do it_." He quickly said.

"THEN WHO THE HE-" I interrupted him by hitting him in the back of the head again. I didn't like anyone cursing in front of children. It was uncouth.

"ITAI!" He yelled again, this time dropping into a crouch and holding the back of his head. He rubbed the spot where my rock hit and stood back up. "YOU," He yelled, pointing at the other guard, who I noticed was Eiji, "THROW THE BRAT OUT OF HERE! NOW!"

Eiji looked shocked, he had his mouth opened and he was sweating. "H-HAI, RIGHT AWAY" He yelled. He turned towards Rika and bent down. "Sorry, Jou-chan, for hurting you." He picked her up and walked to the edge of the courtyard. When he saw me his eyes widened, he sighed, and a small smile came to his face. He got ready to throw her and it was like he was saying 'Here. Catch'. So, once he threw her towards me, I got into a crouch on my perch and caught her. I flew back, cushioning both of our falls with my telekinesis. Though, upon doing so, I gained a bloody nose.

"A-are you okay, Waiter-nii-chan?" Rika asked me. She looked panicked.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I said, hurrying and trying to soothe her. "It happens every now and then." I told her. I didn't like seeing children have to worry.

Luffy and Coby hopped down off of the wall that they were clinging onto.

"A-are you okay, you two?" Coby asked when he rushed over, Luffy alongside him. "That looked like it was a hard fall."

"No, we're okay." I said, "Right, Rika?" I looked down to her and she nodded her head.

"Still, though, what a horrible guy." Coby said, checking over Rika. Luffy looked towards the wall and ran and jumped over it.

"How could he do such a horrible thing? Luffy-san!" Coby turned from where he was inspecting Rika. "Eh. HE'S NOT HERE!" Coby yelled, looking around.

"He went over the wall, Coby!" I told him. Then I turned to Rika. "It's about time for lunch, Rika. We were supposed to be back ten minutes ago. Your mother will be worried." She looked up towards me.

"Okay, waiter-nii-chan, let's go."

"I'll see you later, Coby." I waved to him.

* * *

**Back at Ririko's Bar, Shells Town, East Blue**

It's been about half an hour since we got back, we had lunch, and I was just about to start my shift when Helmeppo and a few Marines came in.

"OI!" He yelled, slumping down into a chair and throwing a foot onto the table. "I'M HUNGRY. We're all going to eat for free. Heeeehehehehehe." He gestured to the Marines that were at his side and laughed. I noticed they had grimaces on their faces and their hats were pulled down to hide their eyes. 'Maybe they're ashamed?' I thought. 'I would be too if I had to be around _him_ all day'

"Oi." He continued. "Hurry up and bring some Sake... What's taking so long! HURRY UP" He yelled the last part. I sneered and was about to step forward to tell him to fuck off, but Ririka stopped me. I looked towards the door where Luffy just came in.

"It's fine." She whispered. "He does this every now and then." She brought out a bottle of wine and gave it to one of the Marines who, then, poured some into a glass for Helmeppo.

"Ah, that's right," Helmeppo said, "Since I'm tired of waiting, I've decided- I'm going to execute Roronoa Zoro tomorrow. Look forward to it, everyone." He took a sip of his drink.

I looked towards Luffy once again. He had this look in his eye. He ran forward and hit Helmeppo, making him fly into a wall and tossing a table over.

**BAM**

"WH-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" He demanded, holding the side of his face where Luffy punched him. Luffy went to attack Helmeppo again, but Coby held him back.

"LUFFY-SAN, STOP IT!" Coby yelled.

"HE'S TRASH!" Luffy yelled back. He had this disgusted look on his face.

"Y-you hit me!" Helmeppo yelled, shocked. "I'M CAPTAIN MORGAN'S SON!"

"SO WHAT?" Luffy yelled back.

"I'LL TELL MY FATHER AND HAVE YOU EXECUTED" He yelled.

"WHY DON'T YOU DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF!?" Luffy yelled again. "WHY DON'T YOU DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF INSTEAD OF HAVING YOUR FATHER DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU!" I didn't expect to see Luffy pissed off so early. He looked, _genuinely_, mad, though he _is_ a simple person. Helmeppo got up and ran out of the bar with his Marine guards following him.

"LUFFY-SAN!" Coby shouted, struggling to hold Luffy back, "CALM DOWN. YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE THE MARINES YOUR ENEMY!" Luffy stopped struggling and coby let his arms drop.

"I've decided, _Coby_!" He said suddenly, "_I WILL HAVE ZORO BE MY NAKAMA!_"

Then he ran off. Coby hesitated to follow him.

"Go on, Coby." I said. He turned to me, confused. "Follow him."

"E-eh?"

"You want to be a marine, don't you?" I asked him. He looked at me for a moment before a resolved look came across his face.

"Yes." He stood straighter than the slumped position that he had earlier. "I _do_ want to be a Marine."

"Then, you have to start somewhere." I said. "You could start by doing the right thing. Freeing this Island of someone like _Morgan_ would do good, and freeing a man that did no wrong would be even better."

Coby _looked_ at me and nodded.

"I understand." He, simply, said and then ran off after Luffy.

I turned around to help Ririka clean up the mess that they created. We worked in silence, or as silent as a bar could be, for a few minutes before it was broken.

"That's a nice thing you did." Ririka said. I turned my head towards her. "Helping someone like that. Giving people courage to do what they think is right. It's an amazing ability." I turned my head back around and continued with wiping down the table.

"Really?" I asked rhetorically, then answered my own question. "I don't think so. The ability to turn and twist people's words into other things, to be able to turn and shape logic, to _manipulate_ people. _I hate it_." I whispered the last part. "Messing with people is fun, yeah, but making them do things they may or may not want to? It's horrible."

"Then don't do that." She said. "Don't make people do things they don't want to." I looked at her before smirking.

"Yeah. That's what I usually do." I told her. "I just love having fun."

"Well, let's get back to work." She said, pumping herself up. "I expect that they'll be back within the next hour." I just looked at her. More work, great. I was getting a bit tired, already, it's been a harrowing day.

"You got it, Boss." I said, before going back to work.

* * *

It was about an hour later that they came in, all three of them, and I was to be off work in Ten Minutes.

"Welcome back!" I yelled out with a huge grin. They turned towards me. "Go ahead and take a seat, I'll be right with you." They went over to the empty table that I was pointing at and sat down. I went over after I was setting down the dishes that I had recently picked up, got their order, and brought it over. In all, it took about the time until my shift was over to finish bringing them their meal.

"Ahhhh~ I'm full." Zoro stated with a giant grin. "That meal was worth not eating for a full three weeks." I smiled and Coby, Rika, and Ririka laughed.

"Eh? Is that all you're going to eat?" Luffy asked with a mouth full of food, and it seemed just like him to do so.

"I have _no idea_ how you can eat more than me!" Zoro said, pointing to the plates that are on the table.

"Cause it's good... Right, Coby?" Luffy looked over towards Coby, who had, also, stuffed himself.

"A-ah. I apologize," He started, looking towards Ririka with his hand on the back of his head, looking sheepish, "I helped myself, too." Ririka had a big smile on her face.

"It's no problem," She said, "The three of you saved our town."

"Ah. You were really amazing out there, onii-chan!" Rika said to Luffy, who was _still_ eating.

"Ahh. I'm great. I'm gonna become even _greater_. I'm gonna become King of the Pirates." He said through his full mouth and turned his head towards Zoro, "I found a Nakama, too." I was sitting at the bar, next to Coby, throughout all of this.

"So?" Zoro said, reclining back in his chair a smile on his face, "How many do you have now? I remember you saying that you were looking for Nakama. To become the Pirate King, you probably have a crew already, right?"

"Nope, just you." Luffy said, putting another piece of meat into his mouth.

"E-EH?!" Zoro exclaimed, pointing towards Luffy and then himself.

"Yup. Just us two." Luffy said.

"_Can_ we even _be_ pirates with just _two_ members?" Zoro asked incredulously.

"Ehhh. What does it matter, We're strong." Luffy said, carelessly. Zoro sighed, putting his arm on the table.

"Fine. What about our ship?" He asked another question.

"That." He said, pointing towards a large dinghy, or small boat if you want to be optimistic. Zoro got up and leaned against the window seal.

"...That?" Zoro asked.

"Ah." Luffy said, "It's small now, but I'll get us a _g~~iant_ one later!" He threw out his arms, not letting them stretch, exclaiming how big the boat was going to be.

"**DEEHAHAHA**," Zoro laughed and brought up a rhetorical question. "And _how_ do you suppose you'd do that?"

"I want a flag, too." Luffy said, ignoring Zoro. It's been funny watching it in person, but if I wanted a ride I'd have to ask, soon. "Mm. Mm. Mmm. It'll be _so~~_ cool!" Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Luffy was born without being able to plan." Coby said. I snorted at that and interrupted Zoro when he was about to say something.

"Yup, So far, it looks like he's just spontaneous." I said, leaning back against the counter while on my stool. Zoro snapped his head towards me.

"YOU!" Zoro yelled, pointing at me. I jumped up from my stool.

"ME!" I yelled back, pointing at myself. "RORONOA ZORO!" I exclaimed, pointing at him. "YOU ARE TICKLISH!" He jerked back, as if he were struck.

"WAAAAHAHAHAHA!" I roared in laughter.

"W-WHAT ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE?" He yelled again.

"I work here." I said with a huge grin on my face.

"Eh? Zoro. Someone you know?" Luffy asked him. Even though we saw each other earlier.

"A... Ah. This guy... gave me something to eat and drink last night." Zoro said.

"Oh~~. So he's your friend." Luffy said.

"OF COURSE NOT!" Zoro yelled at Luffy, then sighed. "He's an acquaintance!" Luff laughed.

"So," I spoke up, interjecting into their conversation. "Where ya heading, now? To the Grand Line?" I asked.

"Ah." Luffy said. "How'd you know?" He, then, asked.

"Cause, you gotta go to the Grand Line to be the Pirate King. I've read a bit about the place." I answered his question.

"Ehhh~ Is that so?"

"Yup," I said. "And I've got a favor to ask you." He looked at me contemplatively for a moment and then nodded to go ahead.

"I want a ride." I said, surprising everyone in the bar, though, there weren't that many people there. "I've been a bit bored, lately. I can't _stand_ staying cooped up in one place with nothing to do." I said and, as much as I like the People here, I didn't want to stay here forever. I clenched my hands and gestured about. "I want to have an adventure- I want to go out and _explore_ the world."

"Hmmmm." Luff hummed, eyebrows knitted. "And what do I get?" He asked.

"I'll tell you what I know about the Grand Line." I said. I would tell him what I know, or a lot of what I know, about the Grand Line. Luffy looked like he was thinking, then he got up, walked towards me, and held out his hand.

"You've got a deal."

* * *

**(1) "Gochisousama deshita" is used to express appreciation for the food, after eating. "Gochisou" literally means, "a feast."  
**

**Thanks for reading and sorry it was up so late. I did the best I could with this chapter. I, also, expected this to be up two days ago but things got in the way. If this isn't as good as you expected, please review, and if you have any questions, or wish to point out any mistakes to me, please review, otherwise, Have a Good whatever... xD**


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